Happy Birthday, Naruto
by sasuke's tomatoes
Summary: Naruto's 18th birthday is coming up, and Hinata, along with the rest of the Konoha 12 discover that he's never had a birthday party before. So they decide to give him the party he deserves. NaruHina. Side pairings include SasuSaku, minor KibaIno
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Hinata's eyes widened in shock as she realized what day it was. September 27th. Which meant that Naruto's birthday was in two weeks.

Naruto's _18__th_ birthday.

She'd been lying in bed and was just about to fall asleep when the realization hit her. Her mind, however, was feeling too tired and lazy to come up with ideas as to what she and the others could do to celebrate it, so she decided to just sleep on it and wait until morning to discuss it with everyone.

* * *

The next morning, Hinata left to go to the training grounds to meet up with Sakura and Ino. The three kunoichi had no plans to train, though. The entire Konoha 12 had been promoted to Jōnin after the war, and since everything seemed to be fairly peaceful lately, there had been hardly any missions, so if they weren't training, they sat around with nothing to do.

Not that it was boring or anything. It was nice to have a break from missions, and to be able to relax properly. Being shinobi, they rarely got that opportunity.

Ino and Sakura arrived together, and sat with Hinata in the shade of a tree. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, before Sakura spoke.

"Lady Tsunade said I could have a break from the hospital," Sakura began, "she thinks I work too hard."

"You do," said Ino, "by the end of the day you're exhausted and you've used up almost all your chakra and then Naruto bugs Sasuke to walk you home to make sure you don't collapse." Ino said, rolling her eyes.

Sakura blushed slightly. She and Sasuke were still quite awkward around each other, never saying any more than they needed to. Sasuke's relationship with Sakura hadn't repaired itself automatically, like it had done with Naruto. It would take time, and a lot of work. _Especially_ from Sasuke.

"Anyway," Sakura continued, "Lady Tsunade's been a lot busier than usual. Naruto's round at her office almost every day."

"Yeah." Hinata said, smiling. Everyone knew why Naruto was always with Tsunade these days. He was training to become the sixth Hokage. The position still wasn't secure, though, and there was a very big chance that it wouldn't happen, but as always, Naruto remained optimistic.

"It's his birthday in two weeks." Hinata suddenly blurted out.

"What?! In _two weeks_?" Ino shrieked.

"Wait... October 10th ... shit that is in two weeks!"

Hinata nodded. "And...err..."

"You want to have a party for him, right?" Ino asked, with a sly grin on her face.

Hinata blushed. Even when she wasn't using her clan's jutsu, Ino could read her _too _well.

"Well..." Sakura began, "he kinda deserves it, don't you think? I mean, I don't think he's ever had a proper birthday party."

"Don't you think he seems a bit old for – hold on, did you just say he's never had a birthday party?" Ino asked.

Sakura nodded. "We have celebrated his birthday. Team Seven, I mean – but he's never actually had a proper party, with all his friends there."

"Wow." Ino said.

Hinata felt a bit disheartened hearing that. Being the daughter of the head of the Hyūga clan, she'd always had lavish parties held at the Hyūga compound, with lots of guests there. But she hardly knew who any of them were. She suspected that they were just people from other clans who were there to speak to the head of the Hyūga clan, with no interest in his daughter. But, however unenjoyable her parties were, at least she'd had parties. The thought made Hinata frown.

"I guess he does kind of deserve it then..." Ino trailed off.

"What do you think we should do?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm... turning 18 is a milestone... coming-of-age kinda thing." Ino said. "But, he doesn't really seem like the kind of guy to have a posh, sophisticated party. He's a bit..."

"Childish," Sakura assured. "Childish is the word you're looking for." (Because god dammit, that guy had once managed to entertain himself for hours by pressing his face against the glass window of Tsunade's office and making faces while he was waiting for her to finish a meeting with those damn village elders).

"I think he needs the kind of party where he can be as childish as he wants. Something that he'll enjoy, where he won't have to pretend like he's someone he's not." said Hinata.

"What, you wanna go the whole hog and throw him a surprise party?" Ino asked, rolling her eyes.

"Piggy, are you serious?" Sakura asked.

"No, Forehead. Why?"

"Because that's actually a really good idea."

* * *

Naruto was standing outside Tsunade's office. He was there for his training (lecturing) and was waiting patiently (banging his head on the door) for whoever was talking to Tsunade to hurry the hell up so that they could talk (because he wanted to know for sure whether or not he was going to be Hokage, for goodness sake, and he sure as hell wasn't letting all his training go to waste.)

_Hurry the hell up!_ Naruto thought.

The door suddenly opened, almost as though it had heard his thoughts, and Hinata stumbled out with Sakura behind her. Both kunoichi were red in the face and seemed to be in a hurry.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto said with a grin on his face.

"Naruto! W-what are you doing here?" she asked, and as soon as the question was out of her mouth she realised how _bloody stupid_ that sounded, because why else would the self-proclaimed future Hokage be with the Hokage?

She silently cursed herself for stuttering as well. Even though it simply been because she was shocked, she didn't want to seem shy and awkward. It might give too much away. Plus, she wasn't that shy, awkward girl she used to be. She'd become much more confident, even around Naruto, but she still found it a little awkward talking to him after everything that had happened between them; the fight with Pein, her confession, and then the war.

"Ah, I'm here to train," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "what are you doing here?"

"We were, um, talking to Lady Tsunade-"

Sakura suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled.

"Come on, Hinata. Sorry, Naruto, we have to go!" she called as she dragged Hinata down the corridor.

Naruto stared after them. _Weird_, he thought to himself as he walked into Tsunade's office.

* * *

Hinata and Sakura stumbled into Hinata's room at the Hyūga compound. Sakura barely had time to turn around before she was tackled in a hug by the Hyūga heiress. Sakura started squealing and jumping up and down, and Hinata joined her.

"Ohmygosh, I can't believe it, I can't believe this is – that he's actually-"

"I know! Who would've thought that he... of all people... this is insane!"

The girls were in a complete state of shock and surprise, and a little bit of hysteria as well. They'd just got back from speaking with the Hokage and their run-in with Naruto, and after what Tsunade had told them, they had practically sprinted home to let out the excitement.

Hinata turned around and frantically ran her fingers through her dark hair.

"He's – he's... gonna be... Hokage..." she said faintly.

Sakura laughed lightly.

"It's official," she said, "it's _really happening_. He's going to be the sixth Hokage."

* * *

First chapter! But I feel like this came out weird :/ not quite how I imagined it. Everything seems a bit obvious. But anyway, the next couple of chapters will be much better than this one, so hopefully I haven't bored you with this one :s

But anyways, R&R, tell me what you think! :D


	2. Chapter 2

**New chapter guys!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto :(**

**A/N: Neji is alive in this fic :D**

* * *

After telling Ino the news about Naruto being Hokage, they'd agreed to meet up with the rest of the Rookie Nine along with Team Guy, (plus Sai and minus Naruto, obviously) to discuss Naruto's birthday. Hinata made her way to the training grounds, one that was far away from the Hokage's office so that Naruto couldn't just appear out of nowhere and demand to know why everyone was discussing something obviously very important without him.

Arriving at the training grounds, Hinata noticed that everyone was already there. She took a deep breath.

"So Hinata, what's all this about Naruto being Hokage?" Kiba asked suddenly. It appeared that Sakura and Ino had already told everyone.

"It's true," Hinata said, smiling, "we heard this from Lady Hokage herself."

Everybody stared at her, wide-eyed.

"You're... kidding." said Kiba.

"Sakura and I went to the Hokage to ask her about this, and she confirmed it."

"So we persuaded her to announce it at his birthday party." Sakura added.

"Birthday party?" Sai asked. "When's his birthday?"

"October 10th." Hinata replied.

"That's in about two weeks..." Kiba said – and then a slow smirk spread over his face. "So, Hinata, I know you're gonna want to throw a huge party for him and everything... anything you want us to do?"

Hinata's heart leapt at hearing that. Whenever it came to Naruto, Kiba was almost like a big brother to Hinata in terms of her relationship with Naruto. When they were younger, he would tease her playfully about her mad crush on him and smirk at her inability to form a coherent sentence whenever Naruto was around. But now that things had changed, she found that he was a lot more supportive. He no longer had a reason to tease her, so instead he opted to support her. Not having an older brother of her own, Hinata was genuinely grateful that she had someone like Kiba in her life. He had helped her a great deal, not only with her training but also with her confidence. Thinking back to the matter at hand, Hinata frowned.

"Err... I don't actually know..."

"Ino's informed us that you're planning to use the element of surprise," Sai said, "so he'll need to be out of his house, if that's where his party's going to be."

"His house... yeah there's no way we can rent a hall, if he trashes it somehow there'll be hell to pay." Sakura said. "OK, if it'll be in his house, where should we take him?"

"Maybe you could take him out to eat!" Chōji said through a mouthful of crisps.

"Um, maybe not," said Hinata, "we don't want him to be full, otherwise he won't eat anything at the party."

"You could just send him out on a mission." Shino suggested.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Tenten asked. "What if he comes back all beaten black and blue and covered in blood?"

Hinata winced at Tenten's graphic description.

"Make it a D-Rank mission." Sasuke said, smirking. He knew how much Naruto hated D-Rank missions.

"Ok then," said Sakura, "we'll send him on a D-Rank mission. But someone should go with him, just in case."

"Why would you send someone with him on a D-Rank mission? This guys' going to be Hokage and you're giving him a task for genin?" Shikamaru asked lazily.

"Well, Naruto's Naruto, and knowing him he's bound to get into some kind of trouble," Sakura said dryly, "so, who wants to do it?"

"Akamaru and I can do it." Kiba said.

"Ok, so you'll need to keep him away from his apartment on the day. Bring him back at 9, ok?"

Kiba nodded and Akamaru barked in agreement.

"So, er... what about food and stuff?" Hinata asked.

"Food won't be a problem seeing as all he eats is ramen," Sakura said, "but for the rest of us... Chōji, Shikamaru, could you organise it?"

Chōji nodded and Shikamaru mumbled something about it being a drag, but agreed anyway.

"Sasuke and I will talk to Teuchi and Ayame to see if they can make him some ramen." Sakura added.

"I'll decorate his apartment!" Ino suddenly said. "I know it's a bit too much for just a birthday, but Lady Tsunade's announcing him being Hokage as well, right? So we could have, like, confetti and stuff. It'll be awesome."

"Ok then," said Hinata, "and I'll do the cake!"

"Ok," said Sakura, "so who are we inviting?"

"Just the people who are closest to him. We don't want half the village there, that'll come later." Hinata replied. "So, all of us. Me, Sakura, Sasuke, Kiba, Shino, Sai, Shikamaru, Ino, Chōji, Tenten, Neji and Lee." She said, making a mental list in her head. "Who else... definitely Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei and her baby, Guy-sensei... hmm... should we invite Konohamaru and his friends? Naruto seems to be pretty close to them."

"Invite the youthful sand siblings!" Lee shouted.

"I think they might be a bit busy, Lee." Tenten said exasperatedly.

"We could write to them," Neji suggested, "and maybe they could send something over for him. Gaara is Kazekage, after all. He knows how important this is to Naruto."

Hinata smiled. "Brilliant, so that's the guest list sorted. We need to inform everyone we're inviting by tomorrow."

"Oh, and don't breathe a word about him being Hokage to anyone, not even the guests." Ino suddenly said. "It should be a surprise. Naruto himself doesn't even know. Lady Tsunade said that he still thinks the position is very insecure, and she's still telling him that it might not happen. So be careful, Ok?"

Everyone nodded before quickly saying goodbye and leaving to get on with their given tasks.

* * *

Hinata was lying on her stomach on her bed. It had been two days since everyone had met up to discuss the party, which meant that Naruto's party was in a week. She also hadn't seen Naruto since her run-in with him at the Hokage's office.

Her notebook, which was full of rough cake drawings and designs, was laying on the floor near the wall opposite her, where she's thrown it in frustration. It seemed that, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't design a cake that was... _Naruto_ enough. She wanted it to be unique, like it had been designed especially for him. But then, she didn't want it to look stupid, either.

Deciding that she needed a break (and some inspiration), she rolled off her bed and left the house, quickly calling out to Kō that she'd be back soon.

And as she left the Hyūga compound, she couldn't help but think, _where better to get inspiration than the one place Naruto always was?_

* * *

Naruto leapt out of Tsunade's office, thoroughly annoyed. He wasn't annoyed at anyone in particular, just at the situation. Tsunade had just told him that those good-for-nothing village elders were still kicking up a fuss about the nine-tails jinchūriki being a Hokage candidate. She'd also mentioned just how insecure the position really was, and that if everybody thought the same way as those two assholes, then there was a much bigger chance of him not being Hokage. All of this had thoroughly pissed him off, so he was going to one of his favourite places in the world – Ichiraku Ramen.

He jumped down from a tree branch and noticed something – or rather, someone – that lifted his spirits considerably.

Hinata.

Suddenly, an idea formed in his head. He grinned and jumped back into the tree.

* * *

Hinata walked along the road with a relatively clear mind but vaguely wondering whether or not she'd see Naruto at Ichiraku. She quickly dismissed the idea, deciding that he was probably with Lady Tsunade. She passed under the tree where Team Eight usually met, and froze.

Because in a split second, _Naruto_ had sprung from the tree branch and was now dangling upside-down in front of her, grinning.

_Grinning._

At her.

"Hey, Hinata!" he said.

She stared at him. It didn't help that his face was about an inch away from hers.

She looked down into his bright blue eyes, and a light pink blush spread across her cheeks. She was suddenly overcome with a strong sense of déjà vu as her mind travelled back to when she was thirteen, and she was visiting Kurenai-sensei in the hospital along with Kiba, Akamaru and Shino. She'd opened the door to the hospital room and _Naruto_ was there, hanging upside-down from the roof by his feet and causing a racket. His face had been right in front of hers, and because she'd been a blushing, stuttering mess back then, she'd knocked him and herself unconscious. Smooth.

"Um, hi," she breathed awkwardly. "You, err..."

Naruto jumped down from the tree and landed in front of her.

"Startled you didn't I?" he asked playfully.

Hinata tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and nodded.

"Where are you off to then?"

"Well I was going to Ichiraku-"

"Ichiraku? Great, I was heading there myself!" He sighed. "It's been ages since I ate at Ichiraku. Grandma Tsunade is such a slave driver!"

Hinata laughed. "How's the training going?" she asked casually.

Naruto visibly deflated.

"Not so good," he said miserably. "Granny's saying that there's a bigger chance that I won't be Hokage now."

Hinata pretended to look surprised.

"What about all my training? I've worked so hard, and now it looks like it'll all just be for nothing. I just-"

"Naruto," Hinata said, "Lady Tsunade said that there's a bigger chance that you won't be Hokage, right? That means that there's still a chance, however small it may be, that you will be Hokage. I'd hang on to that, if I were you."

Naruto thought for a while.

"I guess you're right." he said. His spirits had lifted considerably. He turned to her and smiled, no longer sulking and looking a lot more like his usual self."Well then, let's go get that ramen!"

* * *

**So, there's the second chapter, guys. It was originally gonna be a bit shorter than this, but then it was looking a bit too short so I added more to it. Hope you liked it! Tell me what you think, yeah? R&R!**


	3. Chapter 3

**New chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Walking into Ichiraku, Naruto greeted Teuchi and Ayame and took his usual seat with Hinata sitting next to him. They ordered, and Naruto didn't miss the smirk Ayame gave him after taking their order. He sighed. Ayame probably thought they were on a date or something.

Not that he would mind being on a date with Hinata. She was incredibly easy to talk to, he never had to watch what he said around her, and she always knew just what to say. After she'd stopped being so shy and come out of her shell a little, Naruto found that talking to her was actually quite enjoyable.

He looked to his right where she was sitting, and saw that she was looking somewhere else, apparently lost in thought. So he took the opportunity to look at her. Like, _really_ look at her. Her pale lilac eyes were slightly glazed over, and he was sitting close enough to see the gentle curve of her eyelashes. Her deep indigo hair fell past her shoulders to the middle of her back, and it contrasted with her ivory skin.

She was unbearably cute.

Naruto suddenly started to feel weird. He could feel his heart beating faster, and his cheeks began to feel warm. His palms were sweating, and his stomach started to squirm. He vaguely wondered whether he was getting ill, but quickly dismissed the idea as he remembered that the nine-tails prevented him from getting sick. He tore his gaze away from Hinata and began shaking his head in a feeble attempt to distract himself.

But Hinata had noticed.

"Naruto, are you OK?"

"I'm fine." He answered, but he was still panicking a little, so it came out more like '_imfine'_.

"Are you sure? You look a little red to me."

"Really? That's strange. I – uh-" Naruto decided not to say anymore. He tended to say stupid things when he was panicking. Actually, he tended to say stupid things _always_.

Just when he realized that he was in a lose-lose situation, their food arrived. He grabbed his chopsticks and began to inhale his ramen.

Twenty minutes later, Naruto had a stack of empty ramen bowls in front of him and was finishing his last bowl. Hinata was watching him with amusement.

Naruto set down his bowl.

"Thanks for the food, old man! Oh and by the way," he said, looking at Hinata, "this is all on me."

"Naruto, you don't have to do that-"

"I know. But I want to."

Hinata felt awkward. This wasn't the first time they'd had ramen together, but every time they did, Naruto always insisted on paying.

Almost like they were on a date.

* * *

Arriving back at the Hyūga compound, Hinata flopped down onto her bed as she realized the whole purpose of going to Ichiraku was lost. She still had no inspiration.

Someone knocked on her bedroom door.

"Come in." She called. It was her father.

"Father." She said, standing up. Her dad rarely came over to speak to her. Usually he would summon her to come to him, and they would have a formal talk. Never anything like this.

"You weren't here for dinner. Kō isn't here so I couldn't ask him. And Neji didn't know either. Where were you?"

Hinata inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't angry. Just concerned.

"I went to Ichiraku."

"Ichiraku? Why?"

"Er, Naruto invited me." She replied. It wasn't exactly a lie.

"I see. Well, next time, tell me you'll be gone. Or at least tell Kō."

"Yes, father."

Hinata didn't miss the mall smile on his face as he left the room. It made her feel relieved. His attitude towards Naruto had changed a lot, just like the rest of the village. Although he didn't; really show it, it was nice to know that her father didn't just mindlessly hate Naruto anymore.

* * *

Naruto ran home and slammed his door shut. He leaned against it, breathing heavily. On his walk home, he had walked past the stand that sold cinnamon rolls, and immediately thought of Hinata. He remembered her saying that they were one of her favourite foods, and had smiled at the thought. He also remembered thinking that it would have been nice to go and get some cinnamon rolls together, after they'd finished their ramen. It would've emptied out his wallet completely, but seeing the adorable little smile on her face as she ate them would've been _worth it._

It was at that moment that he'd been overwhelmed by the strangest feeling. It was almost as though something warm and wonderful had rushed over him, and the familiar increased heart rate, warm cheeks, and sweaty palms returned, but a lot more intense. He had started to panic a little, but then quickly suppressed it because he was a _ninja_, and ninjas did not _panic_.

So he had opted instead to run home as fast as he could, to give him a reason for an increased heart rate and sweaty hands.

Which led to his current situation. Him, leaning against the door of his apartment, wondering what the hell was up with him. It wasn't like this was the first time they'd had ramen together. He swallowed deeply. The only thing on his mind was Hinata. The way she talked, the way she smiled, the way she _laughed_. He loved the sound of her laugh. And that was lucky, because he made her laugh a lot.

He walked into his room and collapsed on his bed. He'd had long day. He shut his eyes, and tried not to think.

But he couldn't manage it. He'd felt something like this before. He felt it whenever he thought about that time when she had defended him from Pein. What she had said left him dumbstruck, and the only thing that had brought him back to earth was seeing her in the stance to do her clan's Gentle Fist.

She loved him. He knew that. A small part of him had realized that this was the reason she had been so nervous around him, this was why she would always faint when they were younger. But he'd never actually thought about it.

She loved him.

He had spent most of his life so far wanting to feel loved, to feel special and precious to someone, and Hinata had been there all along. He had unknowingly inspired her, changed her, and helped her become who she was now.

In a way, it was comforting to know that there was at least one person who had loved and accepted him from the very beginning.

* * *

Over the next few days the Rookie Nine continuously ran into one another because of the party preparations. Chōji and Shikamaru had organized a ton of food for everyone, Sasuke and Sakura had spoken to Teuchi and Ayame and they'd agreed to make ramen, and Lee had gone to all the guest's houses, given them his signature thumbs-up, and said "There is a party at Naruto Uzumaki's house, be there or be square!"

Ino had gathered enough decorations to cover every inch of his apartment, and despite everyone's protests about how there was really no need for so much decoration, Ino insisted that there was, because how else were they going to give him eighteen years worth of birthday parties in one night?

And Hinata finally had the perfect cake design in mind. She was so excited she could hardly wait to start making it. It was the perfect cake.

Naruto, on the other hand, had hardly seen anyone since he went to Ichiraku with Hinata. Everyone seemed busy with something, and they all appeared to be hiding something. Either that or they were just avoiding him. Bastards.

And he'd just found out from Grandma Tsunade that in a few days, he'd have to go on a D-Rank mission.

A D-Rank mission.

_On his birthday._

If that didn't take the piss, he didn't know what did.

* * *

**Sooo, there it is! I think it might be a bit cliche, the way that Naruto realises how much he likes Hinata, but he's a bit dense, so I didn't really know how else to write it. It had to be a bit obvious, since it's Naruto, after all.**

**But anyway, tell me what you think, yeah? R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4

**New chapter!**

**This chapter is really more of a filler. I still kind of like it though. Also, this chapter is SasuSaku-centric, so anyone that doesn't like that pairing could just skip this chapter.**

**Anyway, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

"Honey, you've got to get over him." Ino said softly, gently rubbing her best friend's back and stroking her hair. She wasn't crying, but Ino thought she could use the comfort anyway. "This isn't good for you, Sakura."

Sakura and Ino had been having a perfectly good time at Ino's place. They'd decided that they needed a movie night and sleepover so that they could catch up on anything and everything they just didn't have time for anymore. Eventually, Ino turned the conversation round to boys, as expected, and had not-so-subtly hinted at her (massive) crush on Kiba. The led to talking about Naruto and Hinata, and eventually, Sasuke. Sakura had visibly deflated when Ino had mentioned his name, and that was when Ino had decided that she and Sakura needed to have a long talk about it.

Sakura pulled away from Ino and looked up at her. "What do you suggest? That I just forget everything that's happened? That I do what Naruto did? That I start acting as though every time I see him, it doesn't _kill_ me inside?"

Ino pulled Sakura back to her and resumed the stroking of her hair.

"Twelve years," Sakura whispered into Ino's shoulder, "is a long time to be in love with someone and constantly get your heart broken."

"I know, babe, I know."

But Ino didn't know. No one else would ever know how Sakura felt whenever spoke to Sasuke, or even saw him. The tightening, restricting feeling in her chest, the lump in her throat, the echo of his last words to her before he left. No one else would wake up in the middle of the night drenched in a cold sweat, still feeling a tight, strangling grip on their neck from a nightmare. No one else would have to relive the pain and horror of seeing their own teammate spiralling further and further into darkness...

Sakura didn't know how much longer she could keep it up. She was trying to keep things together for the sake of her team, but she was tearing herself apart in the process.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto sat on the river bank in front of one of their favourite training grounds. They had just finished sparring, but Naruto could tell that something was troubling Sasuke, and he knew that heart wasn't really into it, since the training ground was still pretty much intact, and they'd eventually just stopped with a few cuts and bruises. Sasuke hadn't even used his Sharingan. Without a word, they slumped onto the floor near the river.

"Oi, what's up with you?" Naruto had eventually asked. "You're being even more bitchy than usual."

"Shut the fuck up, Naruto, I'm not in the mood."

"Yeah, I can tell," Naruto said, grinning. "What'd you do to piss her off this time?"

"Sakura has nothing to do with this!"

"Did I mention Sakura?"

Sasuke's jaw tightened.

"Aw, c'mon, you must've done something!"

"I didn't."

Naruto sighed. "That means that you were just being a bastard then, as usual."

Sasuke glared at him, though it wasn't a fierce glare. It was more like he was exasperated, almost helpless. Eventually he spoke up.

"Why is she being so..."

"Distant?" Naruto asked bitterly. "Reserved? Acting as though she hardly knows you anymore? It's because she doesn't anymore, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked up at him. Normally the thickheaded blond wouldn't even pick up on these small things, so hearing him explain them was even more unusual.

Naruto glared at him.

"What makes you think you can just walk back into Sakura's life again like nothing's happened? Don't you get it, Sasuke? Things will _never_ be the way they were before. Especially between you two."

When Sasuke had returned, Naruto had been his same old self, almost exactly the way Sasuke remembered him. Loud, boisterous, dumb, thick, still wearing the same ridiculous orange clothes, but he was also incredibly powerful. Sakura, on the other hand, was almost the exact opposite of how he remembered her. She was ridiculously strong, independent, and more violent than she used to be. But he supposed that it came with being the student of the fifth Hokage. She had also changed physically. Her once skinny, pathetic figure was now that of a woman; she had developed soft, shapely curves where she had once been just skin and bone. Sasuke found it hard to look away from her sometimes.

He also couldn't help but notice how her face had changed as well. Her once childish face now had high cheekbones, a soft jaw line, and her pink hair framed her heart-shaped face. Her eyes seemed to have turned an even brighter shade of green, which contrasted with her hair in a way that shouldn't have looked good, but it did.

But by far, the most shocking change was in her personality. She hardly even spoke to him anymore, and that pissed him off more than anything. Even when he and Naruto ended up in the hospital with wounds that needed healing from missions they'd been on, she would chat happily to Naruto the entire time, and once she was done, proceed to heal Sasuke's wounds without a word. Sometimes Naruto felt so uncomfortable he would just leave without waiting for Sakura to tell him that it was okay for him to go. And when she was done healing Sasuke, she would quietly mumble "you're done" and expect him to be on his way. It was almost maddening.

"She's changed, Sasuke. She's not the same twelve year old girl she used to be. Did you expect her to be fawning over you like she used to? Did you want her to? Because if you did, then you're even more stupid than you look."

Sasuke didn't even have the energy to diss him back.

"Remember back then? Back when Team 7 was newly formed and we went on our first few missions? How much she used to admire you? She had this perfect image of you in her mind. You were almost like her idol. All she ever wanted was for you to at least acknowledge her, not treat her like some pest. And you couldn't even do that. You couldn't even give her the time of day."

Sasuke glanced at him.

"And then, I don't know why, but you started being a bit nicer... well, less of a bastard towards her. And me. And she appreciated it, Sasuke. She really did. The slightest bit of acknowledgement from you, she loved it."

Naruto paused.

"She still loves you, Sasuke. She always has, and she probably always will. But she's not ready for you to just walk back into her life again like nothing's happened. She's too... broken_._ When you left, she cried, and cried. She begged me to bring you home, and when I failed, I thought she'd lose it."

Sasuke wasn't looking at Naruto, but was listening intently now.

"But she didn't. You know what she did instead? She supported me. And she promised to help me, do whatever she could to bring you home. Back then... all she wanted was for you to come home. But more importantly, she wanted to rescue you from that place. She would've done anything, taken any mission to bring you back, she didn't care if she died during it or not. All the blood, sweat and tears, it would've been _worth it._ Any spare time the two of us had was spent looking for you. she would've done anything for you and... and look what you did to her."

Sasuke looked away. In all honesty, after hearing Naruto's lecture he was a bit ashamed. But his Uchiha pride would never let him admit it. He knew it was true. She would've done anything for him, and look what he'd done to her. Left her. Knocked her out after listening to her confession, and then left her on a cold, hard bench for the night. Tried to kill her twice. _Twice._ Of course she didn't want anything to do with him right now. After all that, why would she?

Sasuke looked at Naruto dead in the eyes.

"What do I need to do?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. He hadn't been expecting that. Maybe a 'shut up, you loser, what do you know?' but definitely not that.

"Well... I don't know, Sasuke. Even I don't know how she feels about all this. But if it was me, I... I guess I would apologise. What else can you do? Apologise to her, Sasuke. It might be a little late but... better late than never, eh?"

Apologise? No way. No _freaking _way. He had his Uchiha pride.

"Sasuke, to hell with your damn Uchiha pride!" Naruto shouted, almost as though he had read Sasuke's mind. "Are you seriously willing to lose someone just because you're too much of a bastard to apologise to them?"

Sasuke sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, the idiot had a point. "And if that doesn't work?"

"Then only time will tell." said Naruto, turning around and walking away. "Let me know how it goes, yeah? I'm gonna go get some ramen," he called over his shoulder, grinning before leaping onto someone's roof and making his way to Ichiraku, leaving Sasuke to his own thoughts.

It gave him the opportunity to think properly, something he hadn't had the chance to do for the longest time. And as he sat there, on the river bank of the training field where he and his team would train so often, he admitted to himself something that he'd been trying to avoid for ages. He had secretly realised, a long, long time ago, that Sakura Haruno was beautiful, in every sense of the word. And he had also discovered that he cared for her, more than just a teammate would. It was this that was making him feel the way he did now. Making him feel irritation at not being able to communicate or talk with her the way he wanted to, and to say all the things he wanted to say, the things he had been keeping from her and even from himself for so long. And he needed to do something about it before he fucked things up royally, like he always managed to end up doing.

Apologise. Ok then.

* * *

Sakura Haruno was currently sitting behind a mountain of paperwork on her desk in her office. It was almost midnight, she'd been here for the best part of two days, and she was tired, hungry and very, very irritated. Put those three together and it equalled a temper that almost rivalled that of her mentor.

So when she heard a knock on her office door when she'd _expressly told all the hospital staff not to disturb her_, she was more than a little displeased.

She threw the door a filthy look before shouting "WHAT?!" in its direction.

She had expected a stuttering colleague to walk in with another stack of paperwork to dump her with. She had _hoped_ it was Tsunade, telling her to get the hell out and go home to get some sleep already. She hadn't expected Sasuke to walk in with his (infuriating but still ridiculously hot) trademark smirk on his face.

"Oh. Sasuke." Sakura said in an uninterested voice that almost sounded bored. "Do you need something?"

Sasuke shook his head, which prompted Sakura to give him a look that clearly said 'well then what the fuck are you doing in my office?'

Apologise. When was the last time he had ever apologised to anyone? He hardly ever made mistakes, so he's never had to apologise to anyone. How the hell did this work? Could he just say 'I'm sorry' and then leave? Yeah, that should work.

"I'm sorry." He blurted out, and immediately felt his cheeks burn. He'd said it in such a rush it came out more like '_imsorry_', and on top of that he wasn't even sure if she'd heard him or not. Regardless, he turned around and began to walk out of her office.

"Huh?"

Sasuke stopped in his tracks. Was she really going to make him say it again?

He slowly turned around. "I said," he started through gritted teeth, "I'm. Sorry."

"Um, ok," said sakura, clearly confused, "for what though?"

Oh, now she was taking the piss.

"You know what for."

Realization flickered through Sakura's eyes, and she looked down, her hair almost completely concealing her face.

"Why do you even care?" she asked quietly.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You tell me."

Sasuke sighed. So the apology hadn't worked. Time for a different approach.

He walked towards her.

"You're avoiding me." He stated.

"I'm not avoiding you."

"Fine then. You're ignoring me."

"I'm not ignoring you!"

"Then what the hell is this, Sakura?"

Sakura exhaled a deep breath she didn't even know she'd been holding in. "I just thought... you wouldn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"What?"

"Well why would you?"

Sasuke, for once in his life, was at a loss for what to say. How was he supposed to tell her that he wanted things to go back to the way they used to be; when she wasn't cold and distant with him, and he didn't have to try and figure out what was going on with her, didn't have to look for double meanings in whatever she said? How was he supposed to tell her that really, he was afraid that _she_ would want nothing to do with _him_?

This was his own entire fault, he thought bitterly. She still loved him, but after all he'd done to her, who coiuld blame her for thinking such a thing?

"Sakura... that's not what I want."

"Then what _do_ you want, Sasuke? It's confusing, it really is. I don't want things to be awkward between us for the rest of our lives, but you just – ugh, I don't know what's going onwith you sometimes Sasuke," she said, running her hand through her hair, "you never say anything, I hardly know you anymore, I hate this, I really do, I just – you – you make me so _mad_ and I –"

Her sentence was cut short, because in the next moment, Sasuke had come forward, grabbed her around the waist and crushed his lips against hers. He threw caution to the wind and kissed her with everything he had, almost desperately, as though he was trying to convey everything he was unable to say through words. One arm wrapped itself tightly around her waist, while the other one sneaked into her hair, pulling her closer.

Sakura, on the other hand, had been too shocked to respond at first – (_because ohmygosh this was Sasuke Uchiha, who had grabbed her around her waist and was now kissing her like crazy in her office_). She stayed frozen for a few seconds, and then gradually eased into the kiss, and shyly responded, leading her to eventually become as responsive as he was. Her hands buried themselves in his hair, and they remained in a fierce, heated kiss until the need for air overwhelmed them, and they pulled apart.

Panting slightly, Sasuke gently leaned his forehead against hers.

"You really are annoying." He breathed.

* * *

**Well, there it is!**

**I know it might seem a little strange that I put these two together before Naruto and Hinata, but I wanted them to get together before Naruto's birthday, and this was the only space I could fit it in to.**

**Also, since it's SasuSaku month and I have done nothing, I guess this can be my contribution.**

**Tell me what you guys think! R&R!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Quick update! Thanks for the reviews, they really motivate me to write more!**

**Enjoy the update!**

* * *

After having yet another depressing talk with Tsunade, Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha, thinking about the whole Hokage business at hand. This whole ordeal with the village elders was really starting to depress him. He couldn't understand why they didn't trust him. Being the nine-tails jinchūriki, he had obviously expected some sort of drama when it came to all this, and there had been, but most of it was entirely from none other than Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane. Naruto was well aware that when he was younger, they had wanted nothing better than to keep him confined to the village, practically jailed, under constant surveillance with no freedom whatsoever. They had been completely opposed to the idea of him becoming a shinobi, and they were already displeased at the fact that the nine-tails jinchūriki was allowed to attend the Academy and mix with the other children. The fact that they couldn't even respect the Fourth Hokage's wish never failed to anger him, and it was then that he started to understand Tsunade's anger towards them.

_If I do become Hokage, _Naruto thought angrily, _I'm gonna make Kakashi a village elder, and make them two resign. That way I won't have to put up with their crusty asses all day long._

His anger melted away when he noticed Sasuke and Sakura walking along the street ahead of him. Naruto narrowed his eyes. Something was off about them... they were... really close to each other, and... hang on, were they _holding hands?! _Damnit, he couldn't tell from where he was.

"Hey, guys!" he called out to them. They turned around and dropped their hands immediately when they saw Naruto approaching them, looking a lot like they'd been caught doing something they shouldn't. When he'd caught up to them, he playfully put his arm around them both, with him in the middle, and he walked down the street, dragging them along with him. "You guys," he said, freeing them, "are a sight for sore eyes."

They discussed what Tsunade had said to him, and eventually he told them about his mission.

"Grandma Tsunade's put me on a _D-Rank_ mission with Kiba and Akamaru." He sulked.

Sakura giggled, and Sasuke, being the classy bastard he was, just smirked.

"It's on my _birthday_, you bastard."

"Never mind," said Sakura quickly, "we can do something the day after, if you'd like?"

Naruto continued to sulk, but eventually mumbled 'kay'.

"Well then," he said, suddenly full of energy again, "I'd better get going. Places to go, people to see!" (Which was a complete lie; he was actually headed to his apartment to get ready for his mission). "Sorry for interrupting you guys on your date!"

"Naruto! We weren't on a dat-"

"See you later!" he called, already running off, leaving Sakura stuttering after him and blushing deeply, and Sasuke awkwardly looking away with the tips of his ears bright red.

* * *

Hinata flopped down onto her bed and lay down on her back. Planning a party, she decided, was absolutely exhausting, especially when it was and eighteenth birthday party for the love of your life who had never had a party before so you had to give him eighteen years worth of birthdays. Not to mention that he was not only turning eighteen but he was also going to be named Hokage soon enough.

She was exhausted. Exhausted, but relieved. Everything was sorted. She'd made a mental list in her head. The food, ramen etc, was all set. Kiba had discussed the mission details with Lady Tsunade and was bringing Naruto back to his apartment at 9.

And the _cake_. She had finally come up with the perfect design. It was so perfect she couldn't wait to start making it; she knew that she's finally come up with a design that was unique and Naruto enough.

She couldn't wait to see his face. She could almost picture it now, him walking through the door and after getting over the initial shock, smiling at everything and everyone, and just _enjoying himself_.

Sometimes Hinata would just sit and think about him. About how he changed her, and how much she had looked up to him in their academy days. How she had confessed to him in one of the most unlikely places; on the battlefield, and how moments later she had damn near died trying to protect him. She would think about how relieved she was when he came back to the village after defeating Pein, draped over Kakashi-sensei's shoulders, and how everyone had proceeded to congratulate and thank him. She remembered how her heart had swelled with pride when she saw him being cheered on and hoisted up into the air by the villagers.

But she wasn't proud of him just because he'd defeated Pein. She was proud because of how far he'd come since his first day at the Academy. Through no fault of his own, Naruto had been an attention-seeking troublemaker who craved acknowledgement and respect. He'd vowed to himself that he would one day earn that acknowledgement and respect through hard work and determination, and that was exactly what he had done. He had never given up on his dream of being Hokage, and now it was finally happening. No matter how much the villagers had hated him, he had always remained optimistic.

Thinking about Naruto's past engulfed Hinata in a mix of aching sadness and anger. Sadness because of how unbearably lonely he had been, with no one to hold his hand, or bring him to and from school, no one to discuss things with him. No one to teach him things that school can't teach you, no one to calm him down and console him if he ever woke up in the middle of the night after a nightmare. He had been alone from the very beginning. She felt anger at the villagers for shunning him and making him feel like an outcast in his own village. Anger because he'd been forced to grow up too quickly due to not having any parents. Anger at people for not seeing that he wasn't a demon, for goodness' sake, he was a child, and he was hurting because he was starved of love and attention.

But most of all, she felt anger at herself. Because she'd been too shy and timid and pathetic to speak to him, too frightened of what her father might think if the Hyūga heiress had spoken to 'the Uzumaki brat'. She had wanted more than anything to talk to him, to befriend him, to tell him that she didn't care what the other villagers thought of him, because she thought he was amazing. She had wanted people to stick up for him, and make people stop being so horrible to him. She wanted to be there for him, so that he wouldn't have to go through the pain of being alone. Hinata often found herself wishing that if there was any way she could turn back time, then this would be exactly what she would do.

But even so, Naruto had now achieved both of his life goals, (although he wasn't aware of his Hokage-ness just yet). He had gone from being a mischievous little troublemaker to one of the best shinobi there was; student of the legendary toad sage Master Jiraiya, surpassing him and his own father, the Fourth Hokage, as well as Kakashi-sensei. Hinata couldn't be more proud. She couldn't think of another soul who deserved this as much as he did. He had such a pure heart, and his desire to protect and serve the village that had once made him feel like an outcast only proved that. Instead of being bitter and holding a grudge, he had arrived when he was needed most, and had defended his village without a moment's hesitation. He was a bright and happy boy, who had gotten over his suffering and had now built his future with his own two hands.

Hinata would think about how his past had shaped him into the person he was today.

Hinata would think about how much she loved him.

* * *

**It's short, I know, but I hope you still liked it? I know there wasn't much going on in this chapter, mostly just Hinata's thoughts, but I've worked on this chapter so much, this was actually the first part of this story I wrote O.o weird, right?**

**Anyway, please review! They make me write!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey hey! 6th chapter is finally up! This has taken really long, I'm so sorry :(**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto **

* * *

Naruto woke up at 5am on his birthday. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he dragged himself into his bathroom to shower, and looked in the mirror at his eighteen-year-old self. He frowned. He looked no different, he felt no different, and he was pretty sure he'd act no different. He knew that there was no reason for this birthday to be any different than the others. Not that he had a problem with that, he added as a quick afterthought. He quite liked his birthdays with Team 7.

Still, he couldn't help but feel a little hopeful as he undressed and stepped into the shower.

* * *

Hinata, Sakura and Ino stood with their backs against a wall around the corner of Naruto's front door. They knew he'd be leaving for his mission at any moment, and they were planning on sneaking into his apartment for his birthday preparations as soon as he left. Hinata was using her Byakugan to save them the trouble of sticking their heads around the corner all the time and risking the chance of Naruto seeing them there. She kept a close watch on the door while Sakura and Ino mumbled about how tired they were, how it was too early in the morning, and somewhere in their conversation Hinata thought she heard Sakura whisper the words 'Sasuke' and 'dating' in the same sentence, which made her smile. At least one of them seemed to be getting somewhere with their romance. Glancing back at Naruto's front door -

"Shh!" Hinata said suddenly, effectively stunning them both into silence. "He's leaving now."

Hinata watched through her Byakugan as Naruto walked out of his front door in his usual orange-and-black getup, closed the door...

... and then locked it.

Since when was Naruto responsible?!

"He's locked it!" Hinata said in a panicked whisper.

He ran off down the stairs, leaving the girls to think of a way out of their dilemma.

"Well," said Sakura after a while, standing up and walking towards his apartment, "there is another way in."

"You're _not_ going to break in," Ino said in disbelief.

"No, I'm not," Sakura replied, walking around to a window. "He always leaves this window unlocked." She pulled it up and climbed in. Ino rolled her eyes. So Naruto wasn't responsible after all.

Ino and Hinata climbed in after her, and they found themselves in Naruto's kitchen. Surprisingly, it wasn't as unkempt as they'd expected it to be. He had been such a slob when he was younger, leaving empty ramen pots all over his house, drinking spoiled milk, and leaving an endless pile of dishes in his sink. Now there were only his breakfast dishes in the sink, and a few stray chopsticks littered his small dining table. It wasn't exactly clean, but it was nowhere near as filthy as it had been when he was younger.

"Okay," said Sakura, rolling up her sleeves, "I'm gonna make a start on the kitchen."

"I'll do the living room," Ino said, walking out of the kitchen and taking scrolls full of decorations out of her pockets.

"I'll help you, Sakura," Hinata offered. "I need the kitchen clean to do the cake, anyway."

"OK. Hey, how are you decorating it anyway? I haven't seen any of your designs yet."

"Er, I kinda wanted to keep that a surprise till the end, from everybody, not just Naruto," she confessed, blushing slightly.

"Oh, OK then. But will you at least tell me what you got for him as a birthday present?"

Hinata simply looked down and smiled.

"OK, OK, I got you. Wanna know what I got him?" she asked, and she leaned over to quietly murmur it in her ear.

Hinata gasped at hearing it. "Sakura, that's – that's-"

"I know," she said, smirking. "D'you think he'll like it?"

"He'll love it!" she replied. Then, she smiled. "He might even cry, you know."

"Knowing him, he probably will," Sakura laughed.

* * *

Three hours later, Sakura and Hinata had scrubbed the kitchen so clean that it shone, and there wasn't a single dish in the sink or a stray chopstick to be seen. Ino had cleared his living room a bit, and had spent the rest of the time covering it in decorations for tonight. And Hinata had prepared two cakes and placed them in the oven to cook, filling the small apartment with the smell of freshly baked cake.

"Well," Ino said, dusting her hands off, "seeing as we have about 11 hours left I'm gonna run and get my dress. I was gonna get dressed at home, but I figured it would be better to get ready here. That way I don't have to keep going back and forth."

"Get mine too, Pig!" Sakura yelled from the kitchen.

"Sure thing, Forehead!" Ino yelled back. "Hinata, you want me to pick yours up as well?"

"Yes, please. I-it's hanging on my wardrobe door in my bedroom... which is... in the middle of the Hyūga compound... but more towards the front - um, actually, just ask Kō, he'll give it to you!"

"No problem. See you guys soon!" she shouted, jumping out of the open kitchen window.

Sakura turned to Hinata. "So... Hinata... you're gonna make a two-tiered cake, yeah?"

Hinata smiled as she reached into her bag for some cake dowels.

* * *

"Wow," Sakura murmured as she walked into the living room, looking around at the decorations Ino had put around all over the place. "I gotta admit, Piggy did a pretty good job, huh?"

Hinata had to agree. Apparently putting Ino in charge of decorations wasn't such a bad idea after all. She had managed to make the place to look just perfect. Even though it was an eighteenth birthday party, she had managed to add a touch of... _shinobi_ to it. Ino had artistically combined the two by using normal party decorations, but instead of using any type of adhesive, she'd used senbon needles and small kunai knives to hang them up. She'd hung a large banner at the front of his living room saying _Happy Birthday Naruto_, along with a tapestry of the Hidden Leaf symbol directly below it. In all four corners of the room, balloons and streamers hung down from the ceiling, all held in place with ninja tools. Although she'd cleared up his living room, Ino had left all of his ninja gear (anything that he hadn't taken with him) lying around.

"Still, you tell Ino not to make it too childish," Sakura drawled, picking up a stray balloon, "but does she listen? Of course not."

"But don't you think this is better, though?" Hinata asked, gently pulling on one of the curled streamers and watching as it sprang back up again.

Sakura looked at her in disbelief.

"Think about it," Hinata reasoned, "Naruto's never had a birthday party, even as a child. He's never had the opportunity to enjoy all these balloons and decorations. Don't you think this will make him happy?"

Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I guess you're right. I forgot. Kinda makes you sad though, doesn't it? The fact that he doesn't know what a proper birthday feels like?"

Hinata nodded. This was their opportunity to give Naruto what he'd never had as a child, and it was starting to come together. Now all they needed was for everyone else to complete their tasks and show up on time and for Kiba to bring Naruto back in one piece, and the night would go perfectly.

She couldn't wait.

* * *

"You look _gorgeous_!" Ino gushed as she applied the finishing touches to Hinata's eyes. Hinata hardly ever wore make-up, but since today was a special occasion, she had decided that maybe a little eye make-up would be appropriate. When Ino had found out, she was almost beside herself with excitement, and she'd forced Hinata into a chair and demanded that she let her do it instead. In Hinata's opinion, her eyes didn't really look that different, but Ino had assured her that the dark coloured eyeliner and mascara brought out the light colour of her eyes really well.

"Now stand up and let me get a good look at you." Ino ordered, and Hinata obliged. Ino beamed at her. She was dressed in a knee – length lilac dress with a sweetheart neckline that was modest enough, only slightly dipping down at the front so it wasn't really revealing. She also wore silver low-heeled sandals, and had decided to keep her hair the same. After all, it was a bit more than a birthday party, but she didn't want it to seem as though she was going over the top. She had long since moved on from her childish crush on Naruto, and her feelings for him had now blossomed into love, but she couldn't help wanting to impress him.

Ino's approach to the occasion was almost the opposite of Hinata's. She was dressed in a deep purple dress that came slightly lower than mid-thigh, and had accompanied it with high silver heels. Her make-up was flawless, as always, and she'd taken her hair down from its usual high ponytail so that it tumbled down her back and around her waist. She looked stunning, and although she was much more dressed up than Hinata, she had the ability and confidence to pull off such a classy look at a birthday party.

"Er..." Sakura's voice drifted out of Naruto's bathroom, "what do you think guys?" she asked, walking out. She wore a red knee-length dress that bunched up just under her chest and then fell into ruffles down the middle. She'd accompanied it with low red heels and had applied dark make-up around her eyes, making them stand out more and contrast beautifully with her hair, which she'd straightened and let loose around her shoulders.

Ino walked over to Sakura and stood in front of her. "I think," she said, reaching over to ruffle Sakura's bangs and forcing her to stand a little straighter, pushing her chest out, "that _Sasuke_ will be very pleased." Sakura blushed deeply. "Same goes for you, Hinata," Ino said, turning to her. "Naruto won't be able to take his eyes off you," she said, winking slyly. The very thought was enough to make Hinata's cheeks burn.

"We still have about three hours," Sakura huffed, smoothing her bangs out again. "What are we supposed to do until then?"

"Let's see... Chōji and Shikamaru should be here in about an hour and a half with food... when are Teuchi and Ayame bringing the ramen, Sakura?"

"About half an hour before Naruto gets here, otherwise it'll go cold."

"Okay, that's sorted. What about presents?"

"We've got those hidden in one of the kitchen cupboards," Ino answered. "Well, mine and Sakura's. Everyone else is bringing theirs with them."

"Yeah, that reminds me!" Sakura suddenly said. "Hinata, _now_ will you tell us what you got him?"

Hinata shook her head.

"Why not?" Ino asked, grinning.

"I-I don't want anyone to see it before Naruto does," Hinata said, fidgeting with her hands the way she always did when she was nervous.

"Fair enough," Ino said, turning away, "I'm gonna go do any last minute stuff, okay?"

"I'll come too," Sakura said, walking after her.

Hinata was left to her own thoughts and found that she was now feeling incredibly nervous. What if he didn't like it? What if it was all just a huge disappointment for him? What if he thought it was too much? What if –

Hinata took a sharp breath in, then out. You're being ridiculous, she told herself. Naruto's not ungrateful! He'd like it even if it was just a simple dinner with his team, she reasoned, feeling slightly reassured.

She glanced at the clock and saw that there were only a couple of hours before Naruto returned from his mission for the surprise of his life.

Her heart sped up at the mere thought of it.

* * *

**This chapter was kinda hard to write... it took ages, and I'm still not really happy with it, I'm so sorry D: This was mainly just party preparations, and I feel like it's just... boring :(**

**As for the birthday deco and stuff, I really had no idea what to do for it! I asked one of my friends on tumblr, and she said that he needs a childish party because he's never experienced that before due to not having any parents, and I really like the idea of him just getting some of his childhood back and enjoying himself... but maybe that's just me :/**

**Still, though, the next chapter will be a lot better (and longer), I promise! I'll have a _lot_ more to write about...**

**Review please! Tell me what you thought!**


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